gerrard



A. J. GERRARD.

V BUNDLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26. um.

Patented June 7, 1921.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

filec J Gerrard,

A. J. GERRARD. BUN DLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26,1920. I1,380,791 PatentedJune 7,' 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 25 filecJGerra/rd, by

A. J. GERRARD. BUNDLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26, 1920.

1,380,791. PatentedJnne 7,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- files J Gerrard,

UNlTlil-D ALEG J. GERRARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUNDLING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June *7, 1921.

Continuation of application Serial No. 237,487, filed April 4, 1919.This application filed November 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anne J. GERRARD, a

subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Bundling-Machines; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same. This invention relates to wire twisting machines and hasfor its object to improve the machine illustrated in the U. S. Patent#1300166, dated April 8, 1919, and issued to Edward Hatch.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafterdisclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

This application is a continuation of my copending application #287487,filed April 4, 1919, allowed August 10, 1920, and entitled Bundlingmachine.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, in which like numerals designate like parts in all theviews Figure 1 is a perspective view of the head of the machineillustrated in said Hatch patent above mentioned;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, partially broken away andillustrating the opposite side of the said head;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 4--4 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating the wire twisting gear train;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wire twisting pinion detached;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the slidable wire holdingmembers;

Fig. Sis a detail sectional view illustrating the operation of the partsshown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the organized ma chine asillustrated in the said Hatch patent.

Referring first to Fig. 9, 1 indicates any suitable supportingframework, 2 a reel for holding the wire supported on said frame- SerialNo. 426,500.

work, 4 the wire twisting head illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, 5 apillar rising from the framework 1 for supporting the head 4, 6 a flangeon the pillar 5 provided with bolts adapted to enter the holes 7 in thehead shown in Fig. 1 for the purpose of securing said head to saidpillar 5, 8 a wire tension- 1ng lever pivoted at 9 to the pillar 5 andtraversing an arc-shaped member 10 secured to said pillar 5 and to theframework as illustrated.

11 indicates suitable gripping means carried by the lever 8 adapted toseize a bight of the wire 12 when passed therethrough and totension'said wire when the lever is operated all as is explained in thesaid Hatch patent above mentioned.

13 illustrates the foot lever for operating the machine to raise andlower the supporting means 14 carrying the material to be wired orbanded all as will be likewise clear from said Hatch patent.

This invention, as stated above, consti-.

tutes an improvement on the said Hatch patent and is particularlydirected to the construction of the wire twisting head so that theforegoing parts in themselves constitute no part of this invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the head 4 is composedof the side plates 15 and 16 closed at one end by the member 17, andclosed at their top by the i cover plate 18, so as to form a hollowspace in which is located the wire twisting gear train consisting of asegment 19 provided with a hub 20 keyed on the shaft 21 operated by thelever 22, all as will be clear from Figs. 1, 2 and 5. The said segment19 meshes with the intermediate gear 23, meshing with the wire twistingpinion 24, provided with the wire receiving slot 25, and with thejournaled or pivoted portions 26 adapted to find a bearing in theframework of the machine. Said pinion 24 as is usual in such cases isprovided with an enlarged the machine as best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3,and and are terminated by the relatively narrow slots 32 and 33 withwhich the slidable members 3% and 35 are provided. 5 These said slots 32and 33 are preferably formed by inserting in the ends of the members andthe removable hardened steel pieces 36, and the slots 32 33 are onlysufliciently wide to receive in parallel relation the two bights of thewire 30 and 31 as is the case with the wire twisting pinion 24.

It thus results that as the said slots 32 and 33 wil not permit iebights 30 and 31 to rotate while the pinion 2i compels them to rotatearound the c nter of said pinion, should the pinion be rotated the saidbights 30 and 31 will be twisted together into a firmly holding knot allas is well known.

Attached to the plate 15 or" the head i is the bracket like ineinberOholl. wed out as shown, to receive thes idable member {11H provided withthe tending lug or foot in ,e 42 forming con sur 43 l t c nstit 13 of Lslidab provlded with compre; 01%) adapted to maintain their forwa inreg1ster with the slots 25 L and they are arovlded with the adui screwsor luvs J c: .39 l

and as shown. Sec red v the bliiKQt (k0 is an enlargemounted the lug;

on which is 'ustable stop 57 adapte -"l stroke H 22. a on the coverplate 18 is the lug; ingthe adjustable stop 59 adapted backward stroheof the lever n or the lever ndicated at 60 normally mainlinst its stop59 as ug 55. as at 61 is a cutter 52 provided with the iearwardlyextending lever portion 63 provided with a pin, as at (i l, to which oneend of a spring 65 is attached, the other end of which is attached tothe lug 56 as by the pin 67, as best shown in i 1.

This said spring 65 maintains the cutter 6 normally in s inoperativeposition as illustrated w e 1e turning of the lever 22 and the shaft 21gotates the cam or operating member 69 which contacts with the saidlever 63 and thus operates the cutter alter the twisting operation, aswill be presently diselosed.

'lhe bracliet member 45, as best shown in Figs. 2 and i is provided witnan enlargement 70 having a hollow space T1 in which is located a pivotedlever 72 provided with a tooth or detent adapted to take into a notch ofthe wire holding do R as best illustrated in l. Said wi e holding dog-74, as will be elcar from s. l, 2 and 3, is pivto the enlargement 70 asat 75, and is piovided with wire holding teeth 76 adaptgrip an end 77 ofthe wire between themselves and the anvil member 78 with vhic the lug d61S prov1ded, all as will be r Fig 3.

lear om A plunger member 79 controlled by the spring 30 normally pr ssesdog Tel against the end '2"? or ththe vire, as will be readily hand,when l do 7a is moved out tgernent with he wire, as by pressing; inhandle or in lever 72 enou e i d dog: 7%, as bes illustrated Fig. l, andholds the said dog in its'inoperative positio: until released by)ressing upon said lever 72 as will be readily understood.

The operation of this machine is as follows lill1 end 77 is broughtbeneath the dog! 7-1- by unwinding the wire 12 from the reel 2, and saidend 7'? is firmly clamped between teeth 76 of said and the anvil 78whereupon tne night 30 of said wire is fl '3 passed through the narrowslot 32, the wider slot 23, the narrow slot 25 and the wider slo 23, thenarrow slot and in a clockwise eirection, as seen in 3, around thebundle or package to be wired, whereupon said wire is brought hack tothe dog T l, past the same, and'its bight 31 is brought into the slot 32that it will become parallel the bi 30. Said bight 31 is carried on in aparallel relation to the eight 30 through the succeeding slots 28, 25,28, 33 and then through or between the dogs 11 carried by the lever 8illustrated in Fig. 9. The foot lever 13 having been operated in themanner disclosec in the said Hatch patent, above mentioned, to compressthe bundle, the tensioning lever 8 may now be operated to cause the dogs11 to put any desired tension on the bight 31 of the wire. I should beobserved that, as is best illusthe 81, the tooth of trated in Fig.9, thedogs 11 are spaced out of line with the slots 32 and 33 or somewhat tothe rear of the same so that when the lever 8 is operated the tendencywill be to press the bight 31 in against the bight 30, see Fig. 5, sothat the said two bights will be maintained firmly in their parallelrela tion rather than displaced from such a relation. 7 In other words,unless the bights are firmly held in the bottom ofthe slot 25 during thetwisting operation, they are liable to get out of line and to cause themachine to The proper tension having; been placed on the wire byoperating the lever 8 in the manner described, the hand operated lever22 rapidly thrown from its dotted line position, shown in Fig. 5, to itsfull line position, against the tension of the spring 60.

This throw of the lever 22 causes a definite angular rotation of tietwisting pinion 24 by reason of said lever 22 being accu rately stoppedat a predetermined point by its contact with the adjustable stop 5?.Therefore, it results that not only will a predetermined number oftwists be placed in the bights 30 and 31 of the wire 12, but the slot 25will be stopped in a predetermined angular position depending upon theadjustment of the screw 57. it said screw has been adjusted to theposition indicated in the drawings, the angular position in which theslot 25 stops will be in the same horizontal plane as the slots 32 and33; while it said screw 57 is somewhat lowere iii its adjustment thelever 22 will move to a lower position than is indicated in 5, so thatsaid slot 25 may even be turned to occupy a substantially verticalposition.

In addition to thus stopping the lever 22 and the slot 25 at a.predetermined angular position, the. parts are so timed that the lugs 52and. 54; carried by the lovers 51 and 53 respectively will engrasie theadjustable screws or lugs 49 and 50 respectively, carried by the slidingmembers 34 and 35, with the result that said slidable members 34 and 35will be forced to the rear against the compression of their springs 48so that their slots 32 and 33 will disappear inside the brackets 45 and40, and hus bring the twisted portions of the l' ts and 31 against thecut away portion of the frame of the machine to the end that said bightswill be forcibly ejected from said slots 32 and it thus results, whetherthe slot stops in a horizontal or in a substantially vertical position,owing: to the particular adjustment of the screw 5'2, the twisted bights30 and 31 will be freed from the slots and 33 before said lever 22ceases its forward movement.

In the meantime, and just before the ejection or" said twisted portionsof the wire takes place, the cam 69 contacts with the lever 63 of thecutter 62 and causes said cutter to sever the bight 31, only of thewire. is will be clear from Figs. 1, 3 and 9, the bight 30 of the wirepasses down in front of the lug 4:2 and below the cutter 62, while thebight 31 of the wire leaves the slot 33 at a considers lo angle to thesaid bight 30 and passes above the cutter 62 so that the operation ofthe cutter 62 does not sever the bight 30.

The lugs or feet ll and 46 with their smooth bottoms l-2and at?constitute eili cient means for aidingin putting the package undercomoression in that they form a wider bearing surface than is altordedby the head shown in said Hatch patent, above mentioned.

As soon as the cutting operation has been completed t is spring: returnsthe cutter to its inoperative position shown in 1, and away from thestationary cutting edge 90 there illustrated.

The spring 60 immediately returns the lever 22 as above stated, and thestop 39 insures that the slot 25 is in a proper post tion to receiveanother bight of the wi e.

it will now be clear that it he screw 57 occupies one position, thetwisted bights 30 and 31 will be ejected from the holding; slots 32 and33 by the time the twisting; slot 25 reaches a horizontal position. Unthe other hand, another adjustment of said screw 57 will cause said slot25 to move an additional angular distance after reaching a horizontalplane, and thus will permit the twisted bights to {all out of said slot25 under the action of gravity upon the completion or": the stroke oflever 22.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary th details ofconstruction as well as the arrangement of. parts without depart-- ingfrom thespirit ot the invention, and therefore, do not wish to belimited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

l V hat I claim is I 1. In a wire tying; machine the co nation of wiretwisting pinion proi with a slotadapted to receive parallel i of wirebut too narrow to permit said big'hts to be twisted together in saidslot; slidable member on each side oi said pinion havingslot alsoadapted to receive said bights and to prevent them from being; twistedtogether; means to actuate said pinion to cause said sights to becometwisted together outside said slots; and means to move said slidablemembers at the end of the twisting; operation to forcibly ejecttherefrom said twisted bights ct wire, substantially described.

2. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting mechanismcomprising a slidable wire holding member; and means to so move saidmember at the end of the twisting operation as to forcibly eject thetwisted wire therefrom, substantially as described.

3. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting m anscomprising a slidable wire holding member; and connections forautomatically ejecting the twisted wire from said member at the end ofthe twisting operation substantially as described.

l. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting meanscomprising a slotted spring controlled movable wire holdingmember; andconnections for automatically and forcibly ejecting the twisted wirefrom said member at the end of the twisting operation substantially asdescribed.

5. In a wire tying machine the combination oi a wire twisting headhaving a fiat bottom and comprising a gear train and side wallsinclosing the brackets rigid with said walls provided with projectingfeet having fiat bottoms forming extensions of said first named bottom;and slotted slidable wire holding members housed in said bracketssubstantially as described.

6. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting gear traincomprising a pinion provided with a slot; a slidable slotted wireholding member coacting with said slot; an actuating lever andconnections for operating said gear train and slidable member; and anadjustable stop to limit the movement of said lever substantially asdescribed.

7. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting gear traincomprising a slotted wire twisting pinion; a pair of slidable wireholding members coacting with said pinion; means to hold in position awire encircling a package; means to tension said wire; means to actuatesaid gear train t twist together two bights of the tensioned wire;connections with said actuating means for forcibly ejecting the twistedwire from said holding members; and means to limit the throw ofsaidactuating means. substantially as described.

8. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting gear traincomprising a slotted wire twisting pinion; a pair of slidable slottedwire holding members coacting with said pinion; means comprising a dogto hold in position a wire encircling a package; means comprising alever to tension said wire; means comprising a lever to actuate saidgear train to twist together two bights of the tensioned wire;connections comprising levers with said actuating means for forciblyejecting the twisted wire from said holding members; and adjustablemeans to limit the throw of said actuating means substantially asdescribed.

.9. In a wire tying mechanism, means for gripping the free end of awire; means for severing the wire subsequent to the training of the sameabout bundle of material; slidable wire holding means arranged betweenthe wire gripping means and the cutting means; and wire twisting meanslocated intermediate the slidable wire holding means substantially asdescribed.

10. In a wire tying mechanism, means for gripping the free end of awire; means for severing the wire subsequent to the training of the sameabout a bundle of material; slidable wire holding means arranged be--tween the wire gripping means and the cutting means; wire twisting meanslocated intermediate the slidable wire holding means; and means foroperating synchronously the slidable wire holding means and the wiretwisting means snbstantiall as described.

11. In wire twisting and tying mechanism means tor gr pping the free endof a wire; means tor severing the wire subsequent to the training of thesame about a bundle of material; slidable wire holding means arra gedbetween the wire gripping means and the cutting means; wire twistingmeans located between the slidable wire holding means; means foroperating synchronously the slidable wire holding means and the wiretwisting means; and yieldingv means for opposing the sliding movements01' the wire holding means, substantially as described.

12. The comb'nation of a rotatable wire twisting pinion of slottedslidable wire holdmembers arranged on opposite sides at the rotatablewire twisting pinion; a lever for operating the rotatable wire twistingpinion and controlling the wire holding members; and a pair ofadjustable stops for said lever substantially as described.

13. In a wire tying machine the combination of a wire twisting mechanismcomprising a rotating wire twisting slot and a slidable wire holdingmember; means for forcibly ejecting the twisted wire from said holdingmember; and means for stopping the rotation of said wire twisting slotafter the ejecting operation and after passing a horizontal position,substantially as described.

l l. In a wire tying machine the combination of wire twisting mechanismcomprising a rotating wire twisting slot and slidable wire holdingmembers; means for forcibly ejecting the twisted wire from said holdingmembers at the end of the wire twisting operation; and means forautomatically stopping the rotation or" said wire twisting slot after itpasses a horizontal plane, substantially as described.

In testimony whereoi l ailiX my signature.

ALEC J GERRARD.

